The traditional fountain drips ice cold water through a sugar cube. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Absinthe is one of the world’s most controversial spirits, often referred to as the ‘green fairy’ for its purported hallucinogenic and psychoactive properties. But French-born distiller Leonore Salancon from The Canberra Distillery is looking to change absinthe’s reputation, one sip at a time.
Absinthe was popularised in the late 19th century in France, especially among artists living in Paris. The spirit is traditionally flavoured with anise and wormwood: a herb containing thujone compounds which (in large, concentrated doses) can cause seizures, but has a long history of medicinal use.
“Absinthe has been a black sheep for so long,” Leonore told Region.
“In some countries, including Australia, it was illegal and considered poisonous.”
Distiller Leonore Salancon wants to change the misconceptions around absinthe. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Recent studies have shown the psychoactive and harmful properties of absinthe were exaggerated and misunderstood, partly due to the influence of conservative prohibitionists who opposed the bohemian lifestyle associated with absinthe.
“A dish of gnocchi and burnt butter sage contains a higher quantity of thujone than wormwood in absinthe! The misconception is because absinthe was served at a very high percent of alcohol.”
So those green fairy lovers were really just very, very drunk.
After Australia lifted the absinthe ban in 2021, Leonore was keen to take on the challenge to show the Australian market that this much maligned drink had a lot to offer. Using a traditional French recipe from the 1800s as their base, the distilling team developed their produce by macerating and distilling each botanical separately before putting together different blends to get the optimal recipe.
The final product macerates and distills all the botanicals together, using neutral grain spirit. This results in a clear drink, so to create the iconic green colour they add a natural, sustainable, flavourless dye made from avocado skin.
The cellar door in Mitchell is open to the public, or customers can arrange a private tasting and tour. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The result is a complex flavour profile that layers prominent aniseed and fennel flavours with an aftertaste of bitter, medicinal wormwood. Lovers of ouzo, licorice, and fennel will enjoy the aniseed taste, and gin drinkers will like the bitterness of wormwood. I like aniseed flavours, but often find ouzo overpowering and one-dimensional, so I particularly enjoyed the subtleties of each botanical in absinthe which created a more rounded taste.
“Absinthe is more than just a high alcohol spirit: it’s a beautiful, harmonious spirit with different layered botanicals,” Leonore said.
The high levels of wormwood in this spirit mean that this absinthe product won’t become cloudy, unlike ouzo and other more aniseed-heavy absinthe blends.
While The Canberra Distillery absinthe is sold with a higher alcohol percentage than other spirits, it’s still well within safe drinking recommendations, especially as the serving suggestion will actually dilute it down. There’s a traditional absinthe fountain at the cellar door to demonstrate – ice cold water is carefully dripped onto a sugar cube sitting on a beautiful, slotted spoon, creating a syrup that sweetens the drink, brings the alcohol content down to a standard serving and allows the flavour profile to shine.
Leonore Salancon shows how the sugar cube trick works. Photo Lucy Ridge.
To create the same effect at home, The Canberra Distillery suggests pouring the spirit over ice and adding a simple syrup. Leonore is also a fan of The Grandmother cocktail which combines absinthe with pineapple juice and lime, shaken on ice with egg whites to create a creamy foam.
Having bought a bottle for myself I can also confirm it’s very nice with sweet tonic water and ice, and no fairies appeared.
The Canberra Distillery cellar door is located at 70 Dacre Street, Mitchell. They are open for tastings from 8:30 am to 3 pm Monday to Saturday, and from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday.
Visit their online store, or follow The Canberra Distillery on Facebook or Instagram.
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